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Australian Born Harry Hawker, Founder Of The Hawker Aircraft Company And Whose Name Lives On With Raytheon's Hawker 800 And 1000 Business Jets. (raf Museum)
Harry Hawker – The Man Behind the Name
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Hawker — The Man Behind The Name
Mention the name “Hawker” today, especially to someone who owns an aircraft or is in the aviation business, and they will probably think of the Raytheon Aircraft Company’s business jets. The Hawker was once known as the HS.125 but many people do not know how it got its name and will be unaware of its origins. Where in fact did the name come from? It did not, as some may believe, come from that skillful bird of prey, the Hawk. While that would be appropriate, and indeed the current motif of Hawker even includes the head of a Hawk in its design, it is not true. For the name of Hawker we must look back much further, to the earliest days of powered flight.
Harry Hawker was born in Australia in 1889. His father, a trained blacksmith and wheelwright, was also very interested in general engineering and designed and built his own stationery steam engines and even a steam driven car. This enthusiasm for engineering by Harry’s father was infectious and the young Harry quickly realized that this was where his own interests lay. After leaving school Harry first joined a company that made bicycles and wheelchairs before moving on to become a chauffeur mechanic, allowing him access to motor vehicles at a time when they were still a rarity. In 1910 Harry took some time off work to witness the very first controlled flight in Australia by a powered airplane, (undertaken, incidentally, by the world famous escapologist Harry Houdini, whose real name was Erlich Weiss). This event further fired Harry’s interest in aviation and in his desire to learn to fly.
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